Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

Hello All - by chance would anyone know if anyone reproduces the decal that I've seen 1) placed atop the 1956 Pushbutton pod or 2) over the arm that connects the Pushbutton pod to the steering column?

Kiff

Attach file:

---

  transmission decals.jpg (74.95 KB)

Note: i tried making a decal - shown in the center of my 3 pictures shown.....

Each line in the body of text in your attempt is centered, but the body of text in the first image (applied to an arm) appears be left-justified. Also, the last line in the first image looks like it has a space forced before the word "AND". Or is the third image of an original.

ah - could well be. i tried to decipher what it said. If anyone happens to know of who might make a repro - please let me know.

I could make a convincingly original design in GIMP sometime.

I would think there are several built in or even free apps that could reproduce the labels or decals. Avery also offers an online tool that utilize their paper labels although I don't know if decals are part of it. For home use, there are different kinds of paper including, surprisingly, transparent plastic like materials for the typical water transfer decals. That one is available for both inkjet and laser printers.

I have wondered about the various Packard decals or if they are even decals rather than just cheap paper labels. Packard seems to have used several over the years and placed them in prominent places on otherwise nicely finished surfaces. Question in my mind is since they still appear in photos, were they supposed to be a long term thing or just supposed to stay until the operator was familiar with a feature.

I lean toward temporary because if long term I would have thought they would have chosen better quality materials and gone to more effort to place them neatly. The sloppy placement can be seen in a couple of the photos of 24th series ign switch labels that have surfaced where the labels are crooked and somewhat haphazardly positioned. That blue print label on the pushbutton pod above is also not that neat even allowing for half a century of wear.

Quote:

Undoubtedly I think they were supposed to be temporary. With no disrespect to those who want to re-add them to their cars now, they were honestly very tacky to have on a luxury car and I'm confident Packard expected owners to remove them at their convenience. For example, the label that was posted recently that was on some 30's cars, reminding the owner to read the manual, plastered directly over the clock face. Surely they did not expect that one to stay for long.

Also, I know there are various home-brew solutions for printing labels, but the difficulty is generating an image of satisfactory authenticity off of some random photo of an ancient label. Similar to how making a convincing reproduction of nearly any car part is harder than it looks.

Quote:

The item in question here was not a "decal" but rather a temporary label. A sticker. A decal was a whole different thing– usually intended to remain a part of the vehicle. A sticker was not meant to be permanent with the vehicle.

Packard also affixed such peel-off temporary stickers on the ignition switches of early 1950s vehicles.

There is a fellow in Ohio who makes tons of decals and stickers for various hobby uses today. PM me and I can provide the contact info, etc.

I don't think this is a "factory" thing. A dealer may have cooked this up.

Quote:
I really don't know what to believe but Packard did add some what IMO are sort of trashy looking labels over the years. The push button shift labels or stickers have been seen on more than one car in different parts of the country and the same type tacky ign switch label is even mentioned in some service articles. I would think shift labels found in many cars over a large area would almost need factory rather than dealer support.

Here is a link to a video of a supposedly 4700 mile original car with documentation that claims to prove the low mileage. You can see the label on top of the pod.

Attach file:

---

  label.jpg (72.58 KB)